Cyberware Attack Shuts Down Vehicle Emissions Testing In Georgia and Seven Other States (wsbtv.com) 48
Georgia is waiving vehicle emissions checks because a cyberware attack has halted all emission testing across Georgia and seven other states. Slashdot reader McGruber shares a report from WSB-TV, an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Atlanta: The CEO of Applus Technologies, whose software runs the system, apologized during the emergency meeting Monday. The outages are delivering a huge blow to small business owners. "All of the sudden, we were doing emissions testing just like normal and the system just kind of shut down," said James Baxter, who owns BP Car Care Tire Pros. "We haven't been able to do emissions since." Baxter said before the cyberattack, his full service automobile shop conducted more than 100 vehicle emissions tests per day. "Emissions is $25. You can imagine the revenue loss. We have employees that are out of work because of this," he said. Last week, Georgia's Department of Revenue issued a press release that omitted mention of the attack.
The Georgia Department of Revenue said its automated systems have been offline since March 31. According to the report, officials aren't sure when the system will go back online. It's also unclear if the hackers were able to access any personal information.
The Georgia Department of Revenue said its automated systems have been offline since March 31. According to the report, officials aren't sure when the system will go back online. It's also unclear if the hackers were able to access any personal information.
Ransomware? (Score:2)
Re:Ransomware? (Score:5, Informative)
It's a out of state software as service vendor. Massachusetts uses them too, and it's been down for a week. Mass government is telling service stations to expect the system to remain down for at least another week.
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What I find odd is Georgia doesn't even have mandatory emission testing. It's only inside Atlanta area lol.
I was wondering why it was confusing me, I live here and never heard of it. Then looking it up saw its only done for Atlanta and the funny part is in Atlanta they dont test emissions for the vehicles that actually need it, they only test newer stuff lol. I got 2 vehicles myself, my daily driver is a 1995 S10, and a 1984 Camero.
down there they don't have an state shop to do the (Score:2)
down there they don't have an state shop to do the test?
Re:down there they don't have an state shop to do (Score:5, Informative)
down there they don't have an state shop to do the test?
No. In Georgia, there are no state inspection centers, no safety inspections, nothing like that at all, really. The closest thing at all would be safety compliance inspections for big rigs during traffic stops. That's it. Emissions testing is entirely outsourced to private operators which can be anything from an old Fotomat booth in a parking lot to a used car dealer doing testing, to gas stations, to tire shops etc.
Additionally, emissions inspections are ONLY required for Metro Atlanta counties. The rest of the state doesn't have emissions testing.
The testing itself consists of looking for fault codes in the ODBII system, looking at the vehicle idle readings, making sure the catalytic convertor is physically present, and testing the gas cap for a good seal. They used to test for exhaust gases but I don't think they still do that for most cars. Some old test sites have a dyno rig but I'm not sure what vehicles have to use that. Not many.
A passing test result is required for gasoline vehicles registered in the Metro Atlanta counties to obtain their annual vehicle registration renewal. The passing grade MUST be submitted to the state by electronic means. You get a paper copy of the test results but nobody will accept that for anything. The test result and proof of auto insurance must be in the state data system or they will absolutely not issue the renewal.
Source: I work for a company that supports the Georgia vehicle license renewal process. We have nothing to do with the computers thankfully.
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It was a bit of a hassle when I was going to school in Carroll county (no checking) but my car was registered in Fayette (yes checking). I had to drive half an hour down into Coweta to get tested.
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In my area it's the state shop (run an 3rd party) and you don't get it done at your car repair place.
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In Washington it's recently been privatized, so now it's more expensive, less efficient, and doesn't actually even check the emissions. They just plug into the computer and see if there are any error codes. All those union state employees who could explain to you what was wrong and how to get it fixed are gone and the new minimum wage testers were working at Jiffy Lube last week.
Playing the long game, eh? (Score:3)
These terrorists are getting pretty patient. "Muhuhahaha, we'll knock out their emissions testing for a couple weeks and 30 years later there will be .000001% more cancer cases!
My state quit doing emissions testing, because most of the vehicles here are new enough that it doesn't make a significant difference anymore.
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My state quit doing emissions testing, because most of the vehicles here are new enough that it doesn't make a significant difference anymore.
And besides, in most states the old beaters that blow fumes like a coal mine fire are exempt because otherwise the poorest people would be required to buy new cars. So there is no point in testing anyway.
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I wish mine had been exempt when we had emissions testing back in the early 1990s. I had to basically abandon my car because it wouldn't pass emissions testing and I couldn't afford to pay a mechanic to go on a fishing expedition to figure out what was causing it.
I always thought that testing was a pointless means of punishing poor people. Nobody drives an old car which might fail emissions because they like pollution. If I had the money, I wouldn't be driving it. Even a late model used car would have d
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But since they only test 20 years worth of cars, what is the point? Feels a bit like vacuous authoritarianism f
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"Muhuhahaha, we'll knock out their emissions testing for a couple weeks and 30 years later there will be .000001% more cancer cases!"
Actually, it is usually designed to look that whimsical and pointless, but usually there's another half to the plan that is much less obvious until after it's too late.
Which Other States? (Score:3)
The FBI is now investigating it as a cyberware attack that has halted all emission testing across Georgia and seven other states.
The outages are delivering a huge blow to small business owners. The CEO of Applus Technologies, whose software runs the system, apologized during the emergency meeting Monday.
So who's the source that knows it's eight states? The FBI? Applus? Georgia?
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A malware cyberattack on emissions testing company Applus Technologies is preventing vehicle inspections in eight states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Utah, and Wisconsin.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.c... [bleepingcomputer.com]
Re:Which Other States? (Score:5, Informative)
Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Utah (parts).
https://www.bleepingcomputer.c... [bleepingcomputer.com]
https://www.applustech.com/abo... [applustech.com]
Connecticut too... (Score:3)
Connecticut is part of the outage too. The State used to run its own emissions program with its own test stations with dynos and exhaust gas analyzers but outsourced the program about 20 years ago. Now it's run by local garages that use the same Applus systems. All they do these days is plug into your OBD-II port and see if the computer is happy (or not) and collect $20. It's not as much of a test as it is a fee collection program. There's no safety inspection, so as long as the check engine light is off you're good to go.
http://www.itnewsonline.com/PR... [itnewsonline.com]
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At least in GA, you can have ONE active fault in the ODBII and still pass as long as the ODBII drive cycle hasn't been reset or cleared.
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Stim packs. Wired reflexes. BTL slots. That sort of thing. Didn't know we had Shadowrunners attacking smog checks now.
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I thought I was out of the loop, but at least I'm not the only one. I guess 'ransomware' or 'malware' doesn't sound scary enough anymore.
Usually blame china or russia (Score:1)
But this time i think it was probably based in Germany, there's some questionable Volks down there...
Georgia does vehicle emissions testing? (Score:3)
Given it's Georgia, what are they checking for - do they want to make sure you're generating at least a certain level of pollution? Do you get bonus points if your car is also leaking oil?
Who's the owner? (Score:2)
emission test revenue will start dropping soon (Score:2)
Nah, they'll still get their money (Score:2)
EVs still have ODBII, they'll just charge the $25 or whatever to verify that, like, the battery isn't on fire or such, so that the jobs are protected.
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At this point in most states it's not jobs that are being protected, just corporate revenue. Washington privatized testing and went with these bozos, the jobs went from union state employees who could explain what needed to be done to fix your problem to minimum wage immigrants who barely speak enough English to say "Pass" or "Fail".
"Fairly common" (Score:2)
From TFA:
"Unfortunately, incidents such as this are fairly common and no one is immune," said Darrin Greene, CEO of the US entity, Applus Technologies, Inc.
If incidents like these are fairly common to them, perhaps they should address that.
What in the fuck is a cyberware? (Score:1)
Microsoft Windows strikes again (Score:1)
Wahoo!!! I just saved $17! Thanks BeauHD (Score:2)
But no! This is news I can use!! I needed to renew registration on my girlfriends car, and while I know it would pass inspection, it still costs $17 and a trip down the street.
It's bittersweet though. The guy I go to rents part of a gas station, and it looks like he's going to be shut down for a while. Pretty sure it's his sole source of